Billy’s Case Files
by Ermintrude
See part one for disclaimers
Part 15
Ship of Spies January 7, 1985
Billy sat at his desk and thought back to his conversation with Scarecrow earlier in the day. Lee had argued persuasively to be allowed to go and check on Orlando Gravis—Lee’s contact in the Caribbean. The man was an old contact of Lee’s and apparently a friend as well. Billy hadn’t realized how deeply Lee’s loyalty went to some of his informants. Some—like Augie Swann—were strictly business contacts. But some—like TP Aquinas and also Orlando—were friends as well. And Scarecrow was fiercely loyal to his friends, few though they were. He had been somewhat frantic when Emily Farnsworth had disappeared last fall, and now he was willing to pursue Orlando’s lead—on his own time no less. Billy had reluctantly authorized Lee’s involvement—which made it an Agency operation.
All this loyalty—“He saved my life, Billy.” Lee had said—probably stemmed from his tour in country in ‘Nam. That had been a particularly ugly war—even worse than Korea—which wasn’t a war at all but rather a ‘police action’. Billy snorted—he had been there, and he knew a war when he was hip deep in the muck of it. But Vietnam was worse—not only was it difficult to tell friend from foe once you were on the ground—but the popular mood back home had been violently anti-war and that mood had included the servicemen who fought over there as well. Billy’s return to the states had been greeted with relief and thanks for a safe return. Lee’s generation had been reviled and spat upon. Lee certainly still had some issues from that tour—but as he managed to have a successful career, and a semi-normal life outside the Agency—Billy never made a point of insisting he work things out. But every now-and-again, that survivor’s guilt and loyalty to old comrades-in-arms reasserted itself and made Billy all too aware of that particular landmine in Lee’s past. But it wasn’t a major issue, so Billy would let it slide. Besides, maybe Orlando had actually come up with something. He had tipped the Agency off about Grenada.
Lee was booked on a honeymoon cruise, and rather than use Francine—who would have been more than willing to accompany him—he chose to use his partner—Amanda King. Apart from Francine’s pique at being snubbed, Billy was greatly pleased that Lee was actively seeking out ways to include his partner on his missions. Also, it would save the Agency money—because as a civilian auxiliary, Mrs. King cost less to use than Francine or another agent would. And Billy was only one agent down, rather than two. So once again, Mrs. King’s ‘special’ status was an asset.
Ship of Spies January 7, 1985
“Melrose Here.” Billy answered his phone.
“Hi Billy” It was Scarecrow. “We found the money—the revolutionaries were being funded in gold—Orlando and Emiliano helped us catch the bad guys. We got the gold, stopped the funding and are coming back to the US.”
“That’s great—I guess Orlando came through for us again.”
“Yeah—his tip was solid. Ah, Billy there’s one more thing…”
“Yes?” Billy was curious to find out what it might be, based on the hesitant tone in his agent’s voice.
“Amanda and I … we had to … well, we had to go through with it. We had to get married.” Lee sounded a bit desperate as he related this information.
Billy stifled a guffaw and answered calmly. “I see. Do we need to prepare an annulment?”
“I don’t think so—but I need legal to check it out. I used a fake name: I falsified all my information for the marriage license. I’m hoping that makes the marriage invalid.” He sounded desperately hopeful as he related his actions.
Billy nodded. “That was quick thinking—and probably for the best. Just in case, I’ll run it by legal and we should have an opinion ready for you once you return.”
“Thanks Billy.” He sounded relieved.
“How is Amanda?”
“She’s fine—a few bumps and bruises—the dress is somewhat the worse for wear—but she’s OK.”
Billy was intrigued—what dress? He looked forward to reading the reports. “That’s good. Secure the prisoners, and get yourselves back here. Hopefully we can wrap this up by the end of the day.”
“Will do. See you, Billy.”
“Melrose out.”
After Billy hung up the phone—he had a good laugh at Lee’s expense. ‘So he and Amanda had to get married. Serves the man right. I bet he was sweating bullets the entire time. Still—it took courage on his part. He’d probably rather have gotten shot than gotten married. I wonder if I should tell him the marriage is valid, and that it will take time to secure the annulment?’ Billy briefly contemplated a married Scarecrow.
Then he shook his head. ‘Though it might be fun—it wouldn’t be fair to Amanda. She takes marriage very seriously. It’s a tribute to her dedication to the job—and her partner—that she went through with it. I guess she bought a wedding dress for the occasion since she couldn’t have had time to get one before the cruise. I have to admit—that was good thinking falsifying his information. I guess he really didn’t want to be married. Or maybe married to Amanda. That’s a little too much for Scarecrow—she’s marriage material for sure and he’s not. Maybe someday he’ll tone down the lifestyle and actually settle down. What am I saying?—when pigs fly. Still, if anyone could change him—it would be Amanda. She has the patience and understanding to be able to do it. Only time will tell, I guess’
Spiderweb January 14, 1985
After the second botched defection, and after Billy had talked to Mitch Larner, and subsequently ordered Lee to search Mrs. King's house, he sat at his desk and thought about Spiderweb.
'I've suspected everyone on this, and I DID consider Amanda King. But she just isn't our double agent. I've staked my career more than once on my ability to read people—and I know down to my bones that Amanda King is no double agent. No double agent would risk getting blown up by a nuclear bomb when she could get away safely with her family.'
'Of course, somebody doesn't know about all that. Someone is pulling a classic smear campaign on her. I was wondering, but then that coded radio transmission came from her neighborhood the day after she bought electronic components at a hobby store—that was when I knew it was a frame job. It became pretty obvious. We never had any coded transmissions from that area before. And immediately after Francine tells Mitch Larner she bought electronic components that coded transmission comes from her neighborhood.'
'Hopefully Scarecrow will search her home and come up empty—or even better talk to the woman about what is going on, and maybe we can get some answers. Amanda is sharp—and she might have some insights into this that we have overlooked. She's come up with useful ideas before—but I can't officially talk to her. So I send Scarecrow in and he talks to her—and then maybe we can salvage this operation. General Kuragin is the biggest of our three defectors and we need him to come to us safe and sound. Not only have we lost two potential valuable informants—but if we can't finish this operation successfully—no other defectors will want to trust us ever again. Our reputation within the intelligence community depends on breaking this case, and safely bringing General Kuragin in. So I'll let Scarecrow deal with his partner—and maybe then we can get somewhere and get General Kuragin in and start the debriefing.'
After Spiderweb January 14, 1985
Billy Melrose finished up his report on Margaret Brock. That woman had caused massive damage over the years and they had all missed it. Except Mrs. King. It would take an internal team months to sift through all the cases that had passed through Margaret Brock's hands and evaluate what damage had been done. Still that was the nature of the business. In the end it was the moles in so called “subordinate” positions that caused the most lasting damage.
Mrs. King’s personnel file had been reconstructed and Billy was re-running a background check to clear up her file. He owed it to her. She had been their only solid suspect. In his heart Billy knew Amanda King was not a double agent. Her conduct during the Krushchenko case, staying behind to help find and disarm a live, active nuclear device—no mole would have done that. Some field agents would have tried to get away if they could. Fred Fielder and his crew ran when they discovered Savior was armed—and that was just a missile not a nuke. She was a civilian auxiliary, C-10 clearance. She hadn’t even taken the Oath—but she was more reliable and dedicated than some of his senior agents.
Too bad she hadn’t made it through Station One. She would—did—make one hell of a field agent. Billy wanted her full-time, but she had to qualify through the normal channels. Of course nothing about Amanda King’s career at the Agency was normal. She had over a year of solid field experience. And she and Scarecrow still had an impressive solve rate. They were his best team.
A Little Sex, A Little Scandal February 4, 1985
Billy chewed his antacids and contemplated his expense budget. Granted, it was always better to have to pay for car repairs than death benefits, but this time Amanda King had exceeded herself. Her car had been tampered with in an attempt to kill her, accelerator jammed, brakes disabled, and she had crashed into a flower store, destroying it.
‘I’ll admit I was a bit harsh when I found out the extent of the damage. Maybe I can get her into some defensive driving classes. If she had just shut off the ignition…’ He contemplated the vagaries of life with Amanda King.
‘I think we’ve probably rebuilt that entire car at least twice over. It really isn’t her fault. She just happened to see the murder of senator Hoffmeyer’s aide. And now they’re after her. But the Agency is stuck with her car repairs and—thanks to Scarecrow—rebuilding the flower shop.’ He sighed and shook his head. ‘Hopefully we can get to the bottom of all this. Of course, we didn’t even have a case until Amanda witnessed that murder. She certainly has some talent for finding trouble… Now I’m sounding like Scarecrow. But I’m confident they can wrap this up, and things will be back to normal around here—whatever normal is.’
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